Although conventionally, as a photographic reflecting base, so-called baryta paper, comprising paper whose one surface is coated with a baryta layer made up mainly of barium sulfate, has been used, recently a waterproof base, wherein both surfaces of the base paper are coated with a resin, is now being used in order to simplify and quicken the development processing. However, even if such a waterproof base is used, penetration of the development processing solution from the cut end of the base cannot be prevented. The development processing solution that has penetrated from the cut end cannot be removed by short-period processing and it turns brown due to heat or aging, resulting in stain at the edges of the photograph, which greatly, spoils the value of the photograph. In order to prevent such edge stain, measures of giving a high sizing property to the raw paper layer are attempted.
Although, for example, fatty acid soap type sizing agents, as disclosed in JP-B ("JP-B" means examined Japanese patent publication) No. 26961/1972, and alkylketene dimers, as disclosed in JP-A ("JP-A" means unexamined published Japanese patent application) No. 132822/1976, are used as sizing agents for photographic raw paper, they have defects and are unsatisfactory. That is, fatty acid type sizing agents have such defects that they are low in sizing effect against the alkalis in developers and the strength of the paper is lowered extremely, and the stiffness of the paper decreases as the amount of the sizing agents is increased. On the other hand, in the case of alkylketene dimers, although they are good in sizing property against water, they have defects that the sizing property against alkaline water and water containing such organic solvents such as alcohols is inadequate, and the use of a relatively large amount of polyamidepolyamineepichlorohydrico resin, known as a fixing agent, is required Thus, neither of the sizing agents is sufficiently satisfactory for photographic raw paper.
In recent years, in photographic processing of color photographic materials, along with the shortening of the time for delivery of the finished products and the mitigation of photofinishing lab work, reduction of the processing time, reduction of the replenishing amount of the processing solution, and reduction of the amount of the waste liquor are both desired and already effected in practice in mini-labs or the like, and the practice is being now spread into the market. Solution of the above edge stain problem has been strongly desired while the processing conditions are becoming severe, which include the increase of the processing solution temperature involved in the quick processing, reduction of the washout time, the processing solution involved in reducing the amount of replenishment (coloration of the processing solution or formation of a tarry material thereof), and an increase of the accumulated concentration of materials dissolved out from the photographic material.
It is considered that, in comparison with transmitting bases, silver halide color photographic materials having a reflecting base are apt to scatter light, and generally the sharpness of the image thereon is poor. In particular, in color print materials, the transmitted light from a color film system is shone through a printer. In this case, the sharpness of the image obtained on the final print material is considered conventionally to depend on the sharpness of the color film system, but as the image quality of recent color films is improved, the sharpness of color print materials themselves influences greatly the final image, and as a result improvement in the sharpness of reflecting bases is desired.
Incidentally, up to now, in order to improve the sharpness, for example, improvements of dyes used for the prevention of irradiation have been done. Improvements of dyes are described, for example, in JP-A Nos.145125/1975, 20830/1977, 147712/1975, 111641/1984, 148448/1986, 151538/1986, 151649/1986, 151650/1986, 151651/1986, 170742/1986, 175638/1986, 235837/1986, 248044/1986, 164043/1987, 253145/1987, 253146/1987, 253142/1987, 275262/1987, and 283336/1987 and Research Disclosure RD-17643 (page 22, December 1978) and RD-18716 (page 647, November 1979).
It is also described in JP-A No. 286849/1988 how the optical reflection density is brought to a certain density or more when these diffusible dyes are used.
For these difficulties, improvements in bases have also been studied. Although baryta paper has been used as a base for color print photographic materials hitherto, water-resistant bases are recently used, wherein both surfaces of the raw paper are laminated with polyethylene for the purpose of quickening the development processing. In such water-resistant bases, titanium oxide or zinc oxide is dispersed in the polyethylene layer in order to bring the sharpness of the print image to the level of that of baryta paper, but actually the level of the sharpness of the print image thereof is far from that of baryta paper conventionally used. Therefore, improvements of polyethylene layers containing titanium oxide are described, for example, in JP-B No. 43734/1983 and JP-A Nos. 17433/1983, 14830/1983, and 259246/1986.
Techniques for providing water-resistant resin layers on raw paper by applying on the raw paper a coating liquid containing a white pigment and an unsaturated organic compound having one or more double bonds in the molecule capable of being polymerized with an electron ray, and hardening the coating liquid by irradiation with the electron ray while heating the coating liquid are described, for example, in JP-A Nos. 27257/1982, 49946/1982, 262738/1986, and 61049/1987.
Silver halide photographic materials that use a mirror reflective or second-kind diffusion reflective base are also known and are described, for example, in JP-A Nos. 24251/1988 and 24253/1988.
However, improving only bases cannot meet the need for higher improved sharpness and development of further improved techniques is needed.